The present invention relates to an appliance for affixing surgical or ligating clips and more particularly to an appliance for rapidly employing several clips at a surgical site. There are many different designs for surgical clip applicators for a variety of surgical procedures including laproscopy in which a clipping appliance fits through a trocar tube into a body cavity where the clips are applied.
This invention provides a repeating multi-clip applier having a simplified mechanism for applying clips which mechanism is suitable for the full spectrum of clip appliers including laparoscopy. The applier mechanism is particularly adaptable to the disposable cartridge/fixed handle design. The simplified mechanism reduces tooling and assembly requirements, provides high operating reliability at lower product cost.
A surgical clip applicator according to the invention comprises an operating handle and clip applying mechanism having an operating cycle in which operating levers are squeezed together and released. In this cycle, a clip is applied in surgery and the clip applicator is reloaded from a clip supply channel for clip application in the next cycle.
The applicator provides a moveable clip supply channel containing a line of clips that are released seriatim. The supply channel integrates a clip pusher and an escapement or clip stop spring in a single stamped unit.
Clip crimping jaws apply a clip with a rearward movement of a camming member thereby allowing the functions of clip loading and jaw closure to be coordinated and operated by a single sliding bar moving reciprocally to load and fire clips.
A preferred embodiment of the clip actuating mechanism includes a combined actuating rod and in-line clip supply channel together with clip indexing mechanisms arranged so that with a squeeze of the operating levers, the actuating rod moves rearward in the appliance to apply a clip in surgery, capture the next in-line clip, indexes a line of clips rearward away from the clip jaws, and that with release of the operating levers, the jaws open, the next in-line clip is loaded into the jaws, the second next in-line clip is separated from the line, and the clip indexing movement is reset for the next cycle.
The clip applicator provides a novel mechanism with minimal complexity especially suited to disposable cartridge for fixed handle appliances.
A clip applicator according to the invention employs low operating force without recoil, a clip counter, jaw lockout after the last clip and is adaptable for use as a quick snap-in disposable cartridge with a fixed non-disposable operating handle. An operating handle that provides linear reciprocating motion including scissors-type or pistol grip may be used in the invention.
An object of the invention is to provide a novel clip applicator with minimum complexity and with adaptability to a complete range of clip applicators including laproscopic use.
Another object of the invention is to provide a clip applicator adaptable for use with a replaceable cartridge.
Another object of the invention is to provide a clip applicator in which clip feed and applying mechanisms are driven by an actuator having a linear reciprocating motion generated by operating handles.
Another object of the invention is to provide a surgical clip applier useful with a variety of operating handle designs.
Other and further objects of the invention will become apparent with an understanding of the following detailed description of the invention or upon employment of the invention in practice.
A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for detailed description to enable those having ordinary skill in the art to which the invention appertains to readily understand how to construct and use the invention and is shown in the accompanying drawing in which:
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a surgical clip applicator according to the invention.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the components of a preferred embodiment of surgical clip applicator.
FIGS. 3a-3c are sequential fragmentary perspective views of a surgical clip applicating mechanism according to the invention.
FIGS. 4a-4b are sequential plan views of a preferred embodiment clip applicator jaws in open and closed positions, respectively.
FIGS. 5a-5b are sequential plan views of a modified embodiment clip applicator jaws in open and closed positions, respectively.